Abstract: At approximately 3:00 p.m. on November 11, 1990, Employee #1 was using a 1952 41HP International Harvester tractor, serial #8583, to tow an empty 20 ft long by 8 ft wide job-made wagon known as an onion seed tray. Employee #1 dumped a load of chaff from a seed extraction process in a field north of a ditch, then inexplicably turned on the access road skirting the west edge of the north-south leg of the ditch. The 14 in. deep sloped ditch was 42 in. wide at the top and widened to between 8 and 10 ft at the bottom, where a 1 to 2 ft wide stream of water flowed through it. From the dumping field, a coworker looked up and saw Employee #1 about 350 to 400 yd to the south, where there was ample turning room, slowly turning the tractor north. Employee #1 appeared to be having trouble steering and the tractor and wagon went over the edge of the ditch. Employee #1 was thrown face down into the mud and the tractor landed on his back, crushing his chest. He died of asphyxia. The tractor had been operating at low throttle (third position of 13 notched settings). Vehicle tracks found opposite the accident site showed an arc of mashed brush extending 12 ft beyond the west edge of the 34 ft wide road. This suggests that Employee #1 had swung wide to the right (west) before turning sharply left toward the ditch in an attempt to reverse direction. He apparently misjudged the path of the turn and, instead of stopping, tried too late to turn sharply left and avoid the ditch. This caused the tractor's drive wheel to contact the wagon's 6 to 8 ft A-frame tongue. The extra wheel drag caused the tractor to rear upward, reducing the ground-contact pressure and diminishing the steering control of the front wheels. Employee #1 was an experienced farm laborer with tractor driving experience, including dumping chaff. Because of its age, the tractor was exempt from having ROPS, a seat belt, or wheel guards.